Beschreibung:

[Montefiore (Judith, Lady )]. The Jewish Manual; or Practical Information in Jewish and Modern Cookery, with a Collection of Valuable Recipes & Hints relating to the Toilette, Edited by a Lady, 1st edition, T. & W. Boone, 1846, scattered light finger-soiling, original blind-stamped green cloth, slightly rubbed and a few minor marks, spine darkened, 8vo (Qty: 1) Bitting p. 568. The first Kosher cook-book in the English language. The anonymous author is believed to be Lady Judith Montefiore, wife of the celebrated Sir Moses Montefiore of Ramsgate. This “First Lady of Anglo Jewry” is of significance both to Anglo-Jewish history and to the history of Jewish women. While embodying all the Victorian virtues of high moral purpose, sense of duty, charity and public–mindedness, she was a fierce loyalist to her faith and her people, devoted to Jewish causes and the welfare of Jews the world over. The cookbook reflects her social position and is clearly directed at ladies who maintain households with servants. She adapts recipes to conform to Jewish dietary laws, replacing ingredients such as lard, so much used in English kitchens, and eliminating shellfish and forbidden meats. Her section on the toilette is “Victorian” in tone. She recommends simplicity in dress, considers delicate hands a mark of elegance and refinement, and carefully assesses the effect of diet on the complexion. Lady Judith sought to elevate home cooking with social polish while remaining true to the tenets of Jewish practice. Additionally she intended that her cook-book would attract the attention of “those ladies not of the Hebrew persuasion” by providing them with recipes for sophisticated fare that was only incidentally Kosher. This is a rare nineteenth century work containing over 200 recipes, in addition to a glossary of French terms and the section on beauty. However, perhaps of more importance than the recipes themselves is the book's message that one can be “genteel without being Gentile”.